Together with my colleague Christine Schmider, I participated for three years in the Erasmus+ program ConnEcTEd: Coherence in European Teacher Education. Creating transnational communities of practice through virtual scenarios.
Two publications were written on this topic. The first publication, “Assessing student perceptions of professionalization measures and coherence after the 2011 French curriculum reform”, was published in 2024 (read more).
A follow-up article “Curricular Reforms in France: The Impact of Consecutive Reforms on French Pre-Service Teachers’ Perception of Coherence and Professionalisation Measures” is now published in the volume Teacher Education and Knowledge Transformation in Times of Change.
The chapter analyses the profound transformation of the French teacher education system that began with the reform implemented in 2011–2012 and has been continuously adapted since. One of the major objectives of this reform was to strengthen the professionalisation of teacher education and to establish national frameworks for teacher competencies in primary and secondary education. A subsequent reform introduced in 2020 further modified the structure of teacher education by redefining the role of the national competitive examination (Concours) and by reducing the proportion of practical training in order to increase opportunities for subject-specific and didactical learning.
To evaluate the impact of these reforms, five cohorts of students enrolled in the secondary education Master’s programmes at the INSPE of Nice were surveyed during the academic years 2014–2015, 2016–2017, 2017–2018, 2018–2019, and 2022–2023. The study investigates how successive curriculum reforms have shaped pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the coherence of their training and of the professionalisation measures implemented within the programme. By comparing the effects of the 2020 reform with those associated with the earlier 2011 reform—often referred to as the “masterisation” of teacher education—the chapter provides insights into how changes in educational policy influence the experiences and expectations of future teachers. These findings aim to support both local and international policymakers in assessing the consequences of the most recent reform and in refining the articulation between university-based training and practical experience in teacher education.
To be consulted online: https://brill.com/display/book/9789004731554/BP000024.xml?
Please cite as: Schmider, C., & De Smet, C. (2023). Curricular reforms in France: The impact of consecutive reforms on French pre-service teachers’ perception of coherence and professionalisation measures. In Teacher education and knowledge transformation in times of change (pp. 217–239). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004731554_012